Whether you’ve got a small business that you work from home, or you own your own store and have a whole team of people around you to help you run it, you’re going to come across problem customers. Some may be scammers simply trying to get free products or money off coupons, some may be very impatient and pushy and downright rude, and some might just refuse to pay altogether.
This is becoming more and more of a problem in the digital world, thanks to the middleman of the internet. For example, if you’re in the business of freelancing, and you do the bulk of or all of the work before someone pays off the invoice, it can be a real blow when a client runs off with what you’ve done for them. You probably never saw their face, and we don’t always get a contract out of a deal made via an email, so some clients can be hard to chase up.
But there’s ways to cope on days like these, and there’s quite a few things to do about it. Here’s just a couple you should know about.
Try Factoring Your Invoices
It’s something a lot of small business owners don’t know about, but if you have an unpaid invoice or two, you can sell them on to another company for some upfront payment. If you have a protracted invoice to settle, and you’re sick of having to deal with it, this might be the quickest and easiest way out for you.
Be wary, however, as factoring means you’re selling invoices at a discount. You won’t get the full amount back from the buyer, but you should get at least 75% of the amount in your pocket.
Involve the Authorities
It’s very likely that you want to clean up an unpaid invoice as soon as possible, and with as little fuss as possible, so going to an authority might just be your last resort. But sometimes, it’s the easiest way to get an errant client to pay the money you are owed, especially if it’s a large amount that you really need to get on the books.
The main way to get an authority involved is to contact a lawyer, and to use their small business acumen to issue unpaid invoices correctly and in full, along with demand letters. You could even just use them as an intermediary, to contact a client that’s stolen your work. Failing this, you could even use a debt collector to get the message across; if you have a client’s details on file, and all other contact attempts have failed, you have the right to turn to a company like this. A lot of hard work, and even your own personal time, goes into the projects people order from you, so it’s only fair you use these kinds of business protection services to get what you are owed.
If a client has refused to pay up, don’t let go of what you’re owed!
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